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Wicked Witch of the East
The '''Wicked Witch of the East' was one of four powerful witches who presided over the four countries of the Land of Oz. History She tyrannically ruled the Munchkins for some time after the fall of King Pastoria, and the Wizard of Oz was unable to subdue her. Among her cruel actions was the enchantment of Nick Chopper's axe which caused him to cut up his own body. She met her end when Dorothy Gale's house fell on her. Her dry withered body soon turned to dust and Dorothy obtained her magical Silver Shoes. Her death was cause for great celebration amongh the Munchkins. (The Wonderful Wizard of Oz) Book Appearances * The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900) * The Tin Woodman of Oz (1918) Background The witch is much talked about in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (the first of many Oz books by L. Frank Baum), but her first appearance is just after her death. Her legs are found sticking out from under Dorothy's house. The 1939 movie In the 1939 movie, The Wizard of Oz, the Wicked Witch of the East is not verifiably seen except for her stockinged feet. In the movie, the shoes were changed to ruby slippers to look better for the Technicolor film. The film portrays the Witch as being the sister of the Wicked Witch of the West, a relationship neither stated nor implied in Baum's books. The famous sequence of the house dropping from the cyclone is actually a subjective point of view shot, showing the witch's view as Dorothy Gale's house crushes her to death for which her sister seeks revenge. Modern works In Alexander Melentyevich Volkov's The Wizard of the Emerald City, The Witch's name is Gingema. Like in the 1939 movie, the two Wicked Witches are sisters. The book begins with her summoning a magical hurricane to destroy all humanity (since people, in her opinion, exterminate her food). However, Villina learns of her schemes, and changes the spell to only affect one house (her magic book told her it was always empty during storms) and drop it on Gingema's head. Unlike in Baum's books, while being the formal ruler of the Munchkins, she interfered little in their lives, and only demanded that people collect food for her. Since her food was snakes, leeches, spiders, and other similarly disgusting creatures which the Munchkins were afraid of, that was nevertheless a heavy burden for them. In the Broadway musical, The Wiz, The Wicked Witch of the East is named Evamene and terrorizes the Munchkins. In the more recent novel, Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by author Gregory Maguire, The Wicked Witch of the East is known as Nessarose Thropp and is born unable to walk and without arms — she is later able to walk however, by the use of the well-known shoes. Her sister Elphaba (the Wicked Witch of the West), had been waiting for the shoes for seven years. In Wicked, the Broadway musical based on Maguire's novel, Nessarose is unable to walk and uses a wheelchair. In both the book and musical, the character is portrayed in a less negative light than in the Baum books or earlier movie, though it portrays her as becoming fanatical, so much so that she limits the rights of the munchkins and degenerates into 'witch'. In Roger S. Baum's Lion of Oz and the Badge of Courage, the Wicked Witch of the East is the main antagonist. The book was adapted into the 2000 animated film Lion of Oz. as the Wicked Witch of the East.]] In The Muppets' Wizard of Oz (2005), the Wicked Witch of the East is played by Miss Piggy (as are all of the other witches). She managed to lift the diner up long enough to threaten the Munchkins before it fell back on top of her, killing her this time. Merchandise In 2007, Turner Entertainment collaborated with Madame Alexander to create a series of McDonald's Happy Meal toys centered on the main characters from the 1939 movie, one of which was the Wicked Witch of the East. She is depicted as having blonde hair, a red shirt with a green belt and a burgundy dress over her distinguishable striped stockings and ruby slippers. She also is wearing a hat similar to the Witch of the West's, although it is colored red. WixOzWitchEast.jpg Wicked Witch of the East.jpg 42415_wicked_witch_of_th.jpg Other Appearances * The Wizard of Oz (1939): Margaret Hamilton * Wicked (2003): Michelle Federer as Nessarose * The Muppets' Wizard of Oz (2005): Miss Piggy External Links * [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wicked_Witch_of_the_East Wicked Witch of the East - Wikipedia] Category:Oz Book Characters Category:Wicked Characters Category:Munchkin Country